I’ve never quite seen a child actor as convincing as her

The acting in this film is so naturalistic, it’s astonishing, especially from its 7-year-old actress Catinca Untaru. I’ve never quite seen a child actor as convincing as her, and part of that might have to do with the obvious takes that director Tarsem left in where it left the non-English-speaking child to figure out what co-star Lee Pace was saying. There’s a lot of moments of her processing information that any other actor in the world wish they had. And because the film was shot in chronological order, the relationship between Catinca’s character, Alexandria, and Lee Pace’s character, Roy, actually does unfold in front of your eyes. Which makes the scene where Roy explodes with anger in front of Alexandria all the more scary.